Kyle was sitting in his wheelchair, big beady eyes looking at the wonderland before him. The wonderland in return filled his eyes with the sparkle of excitement.

Amy’s eyes were glassy from the tears she’d been holding in her lashes, crystallizing the ache that lay there. This was every child’s dream, a dream Amy and Joshua shared. Now, kissed by the bright summer sun, it was here, but Joshua was not. It was only Kyle and her sadness that kept Amy from bursting at the seams.

Kyle was, as always, seated in Amy’s lap of wheels, almost as if he were sewn there. She clutched Kyle’s paws and turned him to face her. There Joshua was, in the iris of Kyle’s glistening eyes, squinting and smiling in the summer sunshine. Amy’s tears fell, and Kyle’s eyes reflected her smile. It was a summer of growth in their wonderland.

© 2008 Amanda Isabel R. Original for CCF  (Amanda Isabel R. grants CCF  first electronic rights for one month; CCF may archive the material indefinitely and include it in an eBook anthology).

* CCF does not publish students' last names on the work they submit for publication.